Large-scale projects to build data centers for artificial intelligence infrastructure often face resistance from local residents. In the United States, there are currently 843 action groups in 49 states opposing the implementation of such plans. In the second quarter, they negatively impacted the implementation schedule of 45 projects with a total value of $68 billion.
Image source: OpenAI
According to Data Center Watch, statistics collected from April to June this year prove this. Bloomberg. Often, citizen advocacy groups seek to put a moratorium on construction of data centers in specific areas even before builders submit applications for data center construction. In about 30 states, local governments set rules regarding data center locations, power and water supplies. There are no advocacy groups in the United States opposing the construction of a data center in Hawaii.
Not only are the number of groups opposing the construction of the data center growing, but so are their activities, reflected in the number of petitions and the influence of support from local residents. The second season of the Tennessee program alone received more than 500,000 signatures from protesters on the Change.org petition platform, accounting for more than a third of all signatures collected during that period. U.S. President Donald Trump not only opposes the idea of slowing the development of artificial intelligence for the sake of public safety, but also opposes public opposition to the construction of new data centers in the United States. He believes that only China ultimately benefits from these measures, with the United States now engaging in active technological competition with China. Companies in this situation often turn toward building smaller data centers because such projects are easier to coordinate and less expensive to implement.
The number of canceled or postponed projects in the United States varies from quarter to quarter. As a result, in the first three months of this year, citizens participated in the construction of 75 data centers worth US$130 billion. The 45 projects affected by protests in the second quarter represent half of all major data centers announced in the United States during the given period. Protests against the construction of data centers have also occurred abroad, with residents in Europe, Australia, South Africa and South Africa also protesting. Other areas. Representatives of Data Center Watch believe that as data centers expand in other parts of the world, protest sentiment will grow, following the lead in the United States.
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